Guidelines for
the Alternative Care
of Children
A United Nations framework

A loving home for every child

Crossing borders in service and
support of children and families

2

Guidelines for the alternative care of children

contents
4 FOREWORD
5 PREFACE

GUIDELINES FOR THE ALTERNATIVE CARE OF CHILDREN
6 I. PURPOSE
6 II. GENERAL PRINCIPLES AND PERSPECTIVES
The child and the family
Alternative care
Measures to promote application
10 III. SCOPE OF THE GUIDELINES
11 IV. PREVENTING THE NEED FOR ALTERNATIVE CARE
Promoting parental care
- Preventing family separation
Promoting family reintegration
15 V. FRAMEWORK OF CARE PROVISION
15 VI. DETERMINATION OF THE MOST APPROPRIATE FORM OF CARE
17 VII. PROVISION OF ALTERNATIVE CARE
Policies
- Informal care
- General conditions applying to all forms of formal alternative care arrangements
Legal responsibility for the child
- Agencies and facilities responsible for formal care
- Foster care
Residential care
Inspection and monitoring
Support for after-care
26 VIII. CARE PROVISION FOR CHILDREN OUTSIDE THEIR COUNTRY
OF HABITUAL RESIDENCE
Placement of a child for care abroad
Provision of care for a child already abroad
27 IX. CARE IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS
Application of the Guidelines
Preventing separation
Care arrangements
Tracing and family reintegration
29 USEFUL LINKS

3

SOS Children’s Villages
SOS Children’s Villages is a non-governmental and nondenominational, child-focused organisation that provides
direct services in the areas of care, education and health
for children at risk of losing parental care, or who have
lost parental care. The organisation also builds the capacity of the children‘s caregivers, their families and communities to provide adequate care.
SOS Children’s Villages advocates for the rights of children without parental care and those at risk of losing parental care. Founded in 1949, its operations, which cover
132 countries, are guided by the spirit of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
www.sos-childrensvillages.org

International
Social Service (ISS)
International Social Service (ISS) helps individuals,
children and families confronted with social problems
involving two, or more, countries as a consequence of
international migration or displacement. As an international not-for-profit organisation established in 1924, it is
active in around 140 countries and provides services to
more than 50’000 persons throughout the world.
ISS has developed a specific competence in the area of
adoption and in the broader context, the prevention of the
abandonment, placement, support to families of origin,
the respect of children placed in foster care and in residential care. www.iss-ssi.org

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Guidelines for the alternative care of children

foreword
Millions of children around the world are without, or at risk of losing, parental care and face significant challenges in their daily lives which often have long term implications well into adulthood.
Through its work monitoring the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) the UN
Committee on the Rights of the Child came to realise that many of these challenges affecting children and
families were not adequately understood and therefore not taken into account in policy and practice.
This recognition of the gaps between the rights of children and the reality of implementation on the ground
inspired the Committee to hold its 2005 Day of General Discussion on the topic of Children without Parental
Care. As a result of this day, the Committee made a key recommendation calling on the international community of States, United Nations agencies, NGOs, experts, academics and professional organisations to come
together to develop a set of international standards that would ultimately give expert guidance to States and
other duty-bearers on the implementation of the UNCRC.
The Committee therefore warmly welcomes the important and vital recognition given to the Guidelines for the
Alternative Care of Children by the United Nations General Assembly on the 20th anniversary of the UNCRC
on November 20, 2009. They are the direct result of the call from the Committee in 2005 and of five years of
work including extensive consultation and negotiation.
I would like to thank the government of Brazil for its leadership in convening the Group of Friends and tirelessly working towards the recognition of the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children. Of course, this
work would not have been possible without the dedicated support from NGOs and other relevant partners, most
notably the Geneva-based NGO Working Group on children without parental care.
I am very happy to express the UN Committee on the Rights of the Childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sincere hope that the Guidelines for
the Alternative Care of Children will provide invaluable guidance in the implementation of the UNCRC, and
welcome this publication as a first step in the dissemination of the Guidelines from words into action.

preface
On November 20th 2009, to mark the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child, the United Nations General Assembly formally welcomed the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children. We, SOS Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Villages International and International Social Service, welcome this new international
framework with much enthusiasm. It has the potential to promote childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rights and improve the lives of millions
of children, their families and communities around the world. With the aim of promoting dissemination and supporting implementation, this publication introduces the official text of the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of
Children (General Assembly A/HRC/11/L.13) and provides questions for reflection on some of the key content
areas outlined in the Guidelines.

Background
The Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children were borne from a recognition, noted by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child during its Day of General Discussion in 2005, of significant gaps in
the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child for millions of children worldwide either
without, or at risk of losing, parental care. In order to address those gaps a call was made for the international
community to come together and develop international guidelines for the alternative care of children. The
Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children are the result of five years of discussions and negotiation between the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, governments led by the Government of Brazil, UNICEF,
experts and academics, representatives of non-governmental organisations and, last but not least, young people
with care experience.

Key principles
The Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children outline the need for relevant policy and practice with
respect to two basic principles: necessity and appropriateness. At the heart of necessity we find the desire to
support children to remain with, and be cared for by, their family. Removing any child from his/her family
should be a measure of last resort, and before any such decision is taken, a rigorous participatory assessment
is required. Concerning appropriateness, the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children define a range of
suitable alternative care options. Each child in need of alternative care has specific requirements with respect
to, for example, short or long-term care or keeping siblings together. The care option chosen has to be tailored
to individual needs. The suitability of the placement should be regularly reviewed to assess the continued necessity of providing alternative care, and the viability of potential reunification with the family.

How to use this publication
Included in each section of the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, you will find questions relating
to national policy. While the questions are neither exhaustive, nor part of the official text, they aim at inspiring
reflection on the implementation of the key principles of the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children
on the national level. The Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children will only have a concrete positive
impact on the lives of children, their families and communities if what is written is also done. We commit
ourselves to transforming words into deeds.

implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child and of relevant provisions of other international
instruments regarding the protection and well-being of
children who are deprived of parental care or who are at
risk of being so.

2 Against the background of these international instruments and taking account of the developing body of
knowledge and experience in this sphere, the Guidelines
set out desirable orientations for policy and practice.
They are designed for wide dissemination among all sectors directly or indirectly concerned with issues relating
to alternative care, and seek in particular to:
(a) Support efforts to keep children in, or return them to,
the care of their family or, failing this, to find another
appropriate and permanent solution, including adoption and kafala of Islamic law;
(b) Ensure that, while such permanent solutions are being sought, or in cases where they are not possible
or are not in the best interests of the child, the most
suitable forms of alternative care are identified and
provided, under conditions that promote the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
full and harmonious development;
(c) Assist and encourage governments to better implement their responsibilities and obligations in these
respects, bearing in mind the economic, social and
cultural conditions prevailing in each State; and
(d) Guide policies, decisions and activities of all concerned with social protection and child welfare in both
the public and private sectors, including civil society.

II. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
AND PERSPECTIVES
A. The child and the family
3 The family being the fundamental group of society
and the natural environment for the growth, well-being
and protection of children, efforts should primarily be
directed to enabling the child to remain in or return to the
care of his/her parents, or when appropriate, other close
family members. The State should ensure that families
have access to forms of support in the care-giving role.
4 Every child and young person should live in a support-

ive, protective and caring environment that promotes his/
her full potential. Children with inadequate or no parental care are at special risk of being denied such a nurturing environment.

5 Where the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own family is unable, even with ap-

propriate support, to provide adequate care for the child,
or abandons or relinquishes the child, the State is responsible for protecting the rights of the child and ensuring
appropriate alternative care, with or through competent
local authorities and duly authorized civil society organizations. It is the role of the State, through its competent
authorities, to ensure the supervision of the safety, wellbeing and development of any child placed in alternative
care and the regular review of the appropriateness of the
care arrangement provided.

6 All decisions, initiatives and approaches falling within
the scope of the present Guidelines should be made on a

7

case-by-case basis, with a view notably to ensuring the
child’s safety and security, and must be grounded in the
best interests and rights of the child concerned, in conformity with the principle of non-discrimination and taking due account of the gender perspective. They should
respect fully the child’s right to be consulted and to have
his/her views duly taken into account in accordance with
his/her evolving capacities, and on the basis of his/her access to all necessary information. Every effort should be
made to enable such consultation and information provision to be carried out in the child’s preferred language.

9 Special efforts should be made to tackle discrimina-

6.bis In applying the present Guidelines, determination
of the best interests of the child shall be designed to identify courses of action for children deprived of parental
care, or at risk of being so, that are best suited to satisfying their needs and rights, taking into account the full and
personal development of their rights in their family, social
and cultural environment and their status as subjects of
rights, both at the time of the determination and in the
longer term. The determination process should take account of, inter alia, the right of the child to be heard and to
have his/her views taken into account in accordance with
his/her age and maturity.

10 All decisions concerning alternative care should take

7 States should develop and implement comprehensive

tion on the basis of any status of the child or parents,
including poverty, ethnicity, religion, sex, mental and
physical disability, HIV/AIDS status or other serious illnesses, whether physical or mental, birth out of wedlock,
and socio-economic stigma, and all other statuses and
circumstances that can give rise to relinquishment, abandonment and/or removal of a child.

B. Alternative care
full account of the desirability, in principle, of maintaining the child as close as possible to his/her habitual place
of residence, in order to facilitate contact and potential
reintegration with his/her family and to minimize disruption of his/her educational, cultural and social life.

11 Decisions regarding children in alternative care, including those in informal care, should have due regard for
the importance of ensuring children a stable home and of
meeting their basic need for safe and continuous attachment to their caregivers, with permanency generally being
a key goal.

child welfare and protection policies within the framework of their overall social and human development policy, with attention to the improvement of existing alternative care provision, reflecting the principles contained in
the present Guidelines.

12 Children must be treated with dignity and respect at
all times and must benefit from effective protection from
abuse, neglect and all forms of exploitation, whether on
the part of care providers, peers or third parties, in whatever care setting they may find themselves.

8 As part of efforts to prevent separation of children from
their parents, States should seek to ensure appropriate
and culturally sensitive measures:
(a) To support family care-giving environments whose capacities are limited by factors such as disabilities; drug
and alcohol misuse; discrimination against families with
indigenous or minority backgrounds; and those living in
armed conflict regions or under foreign occupation;
(b) To provide appropriate care and protection for vulnerable children, such as child victims of abuse and exploitation; abandoned children; children living on the
street; children born out of wedlock; unaccompanied
and separated children; internally displaced and refugee children; children of migrant workers; children of
asylum-seekers; or children living with or affected by
HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses.

13 Removal of a child from the care of the family should
be seen as a measure of last resort and should be, whenever possible, temporary and for the shortest possible duration. Removal decisions should be regularly reviewed
and the child’s return to parental care, once the original
causes of removal have been resolved or have disappeared, should be in the child’s best interests, in keeping
with the assessment foreseen in paragraph 48 below.
14 Financial and material poverty, or conditions directly

and uniquely imputable to such poverty, should never be
the only justification for the removal of a child from parental care, for receiving a child into alternative care, or
for preventing his/her reintegration, but should be seen
as a signal for the need to provide appropriate support to
the family.

8

Guidelines for the alternative care of children

THE PRINCIPLE OF NECESSITY
This principle presents a clear preventative role
for national policy and the need for resources
to ensure supportive social work services that
seek to prevent the separation of children from
their families.

15 Attention must be paid to promoting and safeguard-

ing all other rights of special pertinence to the situation
of children without parental care, including, but not limited to, access to education, health and other basic services, the right to identity, freedom of religion or belief, language and protection of property and inheritance rights.

16 Siblings with existing bonds should in principle not be

family should be an action of necessity and last resort?

separated by placements in alternative care unless there
is a clear risk of abuse or other justification in the best
interests of the child. In any case, every effort should be
made to enable siblings to maintain contact with each
other, unless this is against their wishes or interests.

..ensure that poverty alone is never the primary jus-

17 Recognizing that, in most countries, the majority of

Does national policy..
..clearly establish that the removal of a child from the

tification for children being removed from parental
care and placed in alternative care?
..ensure that comprehensive criteria are used to
assess the capacity of the family to care for the
child when a risk to the child in that family has been
identified?

children without parental care are looked after informally by relatives or others, States should seek to devise appropriate means, consistent with the present Guidelines,
to ensure their welfare and protection while in such informal care arrangements, with due respect for cultural,
economic, gender and religious differences and practices
that do not conflict with the rights and best interests of
the child.

..promote and support the development and implementation of a range of appropriate family support
services as preventative measures to ensure children can be cared for within their families?
..guarantee that parents and children fully participate in the decision-making process and are kept
informed of their rights, particularly their right to ap-

18 No child should be without the support and protec-

tion of a legal guardian or other recognized responsible
adult or competent public body at any time.

19 The provision of alternative care should never be undertaken with a prime purpose of furthering the political,
religious or economic goals of the providers.

peal against a decision to remove a child?

20 Use of residential care should be limited to cases

lescent parents, to prevent child abandonment?

where such a setting is specifically appropriate, necessary and constructive for the individual child concerned
and in his/her best interests.

..guarantee, in all cases, that any placement of a

21 In accordance with the predominant opinion of ex-

..provide for parenting education, and other relevant
supports to parents in particular, for example ado-

child in alternative care is subject to periodic reviews
to assess the continuing necessity for a placement
outside the family, and the possibility for reunification with the family?

perts, alternative care for young children, especially
those under the age of 3 years, should be provided in
family-based settings. Exceptions to this principle may
be warranted in order to prevent the separation of siblings and in cases where the placement is of an emergency nature or is for a predetermined and very limited
duration, with planned family reintegration or other appropriate long-term care solution as its outcome.

9

family-based care complement each other in meeting the
needs of children, where large residential care facilities
(institutions) remain, alternatives should be developed in
the context of an overall deinstitutionalization strategy,
with precise goals and objectives, which will allow for
their progressive elimination. To this end, States should
establish care standards to ensure the quality and conditions that are conducive to the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development,
such as individualized and small-group care, and should
evaluate existing facilities against these standards. Decisions regarding the establishment of, or permission to
establish, new residential care facilities, whether public
or private, should take full account of this de-institutionalization objective and strategy.

THE PRINICIPLE OF
appropriateness
In cases where alternative care is deemed necessary, and in the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best interests, the
Guidelines also seek to ensure that the choice
of the care setting and the period spent in care
are appropriate in each case and promote stability and permanence.

ÂŠ D. Sansoni

22 While recognizing that residential care facilities and

Measures to promote application

Does national policy..

23 States should, to the maximum extent of their available resources and, where appropriate, in the framework
of development cooperation, allocate human and financial
resources to ensure the optimal and progressive implementation of the present Guidelines throughout their respective territories in a timely manner. States should facilitate active cooperation among all relevant authorities
and the mainstreaming of child and family welfare issues
within all ministries directly or indirectly concerned.

..ensure the availability of a suitable range of alternative care options appropriate to the individual
needs of children requiring care and protection?
..include a clear National Plan for the de-institutionalisation of the care system and the development of
family-based and other appropriate alternative care
options?
..obligate all care providers to conduct appropriate

24 States are responsible for determining any need for,

and requesting, international cooperation in implementing the present Guidelines. Such requests should be given due consideration and should receive a favourable response wherever possible and appropriate. The enhanced
implementation of the present Guidelines should figure
in development cooperation programmes. When providing assistance to a State, foreign entities should abstain
from any initiative inconsistent with the Guidelines.

background checks to ensure the suitability of potential carers?
..include the need to consider the desirability of
keeping siblings together in alternative care settings
as a key requirement in assessing appropriateness?
..obligate all care providers and carers to ensure the
full participation of the family and the child in planning, reviewing, and other decision-making proc-

25 Nothing in the present Guidelines should be interpreted as encouraging or condoning lower standards than
those that may exist in given States, including in their
legislation. Similarly, competent authorities, professional organizations and others are encouraged to develop
national or professionally-specific guidelines that build
upon the letter and spirit of the present Guidelines.

esses regarding the alternative care placement?
..provide a rights-based framework that takes a
holistic approach to ensuring the rights of the child
while taking account not only care and protection
but also, for example, education, health, identity,
faith, or privacy?

10

Guidelines for the alternative care of children

III. SCOPE OF
THE GUIDELINES
26 The present Guidelines apply to the appropriate use
and conditions of alternative formal care for all persons
under the age of 18 years, unless under the law applicable to the child majority is attained earlier. Only where
indicated do the Guidelines also apply to informal care
settings, having due regard for both the important role
played by the extended family and community and the
obligations of States for all children not in the care of
their parents or legal and customary caregivers, as set out
in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
27 Principles in the present Guidelines are also applicable, as appropriate, to young persons already in alternative care and who need continuing care or support for
a transitional period after reaching the age of majority
under applicable law.
28 For the purposes of the present Guidelines, and subject notably to the exceptions listed in paragraph 29 below, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) Children without parental care: all children not in
the overnight care of at least one of their parents, for
whatever reason and under whatever circumstances.
Children without parental care who are outside their
country of habitual residence or victims of emergency
situations may be designated as:
(i) “Unaccompanied” if they are not cared for by
another relative or an adult who by law or custom
is responsible for doing so; or
(ii) “Separated” if they are separated from a previous
legal or customary primary caregiver, but who may
nevertheless be accompanied by another relative.
(b) Alternative care may take the form of:
(i) Informal care: any private arrangement provided in a family environment, whereby the child is
looked after on an ongoing or indefinite basis by
relatives or friends (informal kinship care) or by
others in their individual capacity, at the initiative of the child, his/her parents or other person
without this arrangement having been ordered by
an administrative or judicial authority or a duly
accredited body;
(ii) Formal care: all care provided in a family envi-

ronment which has been ordered by a competent
administrative body or judicial authority, and all
care provided in a residential environment, including in private facilities, whether or not as a
result of administrative or judicial measures.
(c) With respect to the environment where it is provided,
alternative care may be:
(i) Kinship care: family-based care within the
child’s extended family or with close friends of
the family known to the child, whether formal or
informal in nature;
(ii) Foster care: situations where children are placed
by a competent authority for the purpose of alternative care in the domestic environment of a family
other than the children’s own family, that has been
selected, qualified, approved and supervised for
providing such care;
(iii) Other forms of family-based or family-like
care placements;
(iv) Residential care: care provided in any nonfamily-based group setting, such as places of
safety for emergency care, transit centres in emergency situations, and all other short and long-term
residential care facilities including group homes;
(v) Supervised independent living arrangements
for children.
(d) With respect to those responsible for alternative care:
(i) Agencies are the public or private bodies and
services that organize alternative care for children;
(ii) Facilities are the individual public or private
establishments that provide residential care for
children.
29 The scope of alternative care as foreseen in the
present Guidelines does not extend, however, to:
(a) Persons under the age of 18 years who are deprived
of their liberty by decision of a judicial or administrative authority as a result of being alleged as, accused of or recognized as having infringed the law,
and whose situation is covered by the United Nations
Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of
Juvenile Justice and the United Nations Rules for the
Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty;
(b) Care by adoptive parents from the moment the child
concerned is effectively placed in their custody pursuant to a final adoption order, as of which moment,
for the purposes of the present Guidelines, the child is
considered to be in parental care. The Guidelines are,

11

however, applicable to pre-adoption or probationary
placement of a child with the prospective adoptive
parents, as far as they are compatible with requirements governing such placements as stipulated in
other relevant international instruments;
(c) Informal arrangements whereby a child voluntarily
stays with relatives or friends for recreational purposes and reasons not connected with the parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; general
inability or unwillingness to provide adequate care.

PROMOTING
PARENTAL CARE
Emphasising the preventative role of social
work, the Guidelines present the need to support and empower vulnerable families with the
necessary capacities to care for children themselves.

encouraged to make use of the present Guidelines, as
applicable, at boarding schools, hospitals, centres for
children with mental and physical disabilities or other
special needs, camps, the workplace and other places
which may be responsible for the care of children.

IV. PREVENTING
THE NEED FOR
ALTERNATIVE CARE

ÂŠ B. Neeleman

30 Competent authorities and others concerned are also

Does national policy..
..ensure the systematic collection of relevant data
on the causal factors of family vulnerability and en-

A. Promoting parental care
31 States should pursue policies that ensure support for

families in meeting their responsibilities towards the
child and promote the right of the child to have a relationship with both parents. These policies should address
the root causes of child abandonment, relinquishment
and separation of the child from his/her family by ensuring, inter alia, the right to birth registration, access
to adequate housing and to basic health, education and
social welfare services, as well as by promoting measures to combat poverty, discrimination, marginalization,
stigmatization, violence, child maltreatment and sexual
abuse, and substance abuse.

sure that relevant data informs service delivery in
support of families?
..foresee appropriate interventions to support and
strengthen families in order to prevent separation
and ensure that these interventions are consequently
resourced, targeted, and implemented?
..guarantee that family-oriented policies are in place
and implemented, to strengthen family environments without discrimination based on, for example,
marital status, birth status, poverty or ethnicity?
..recognise and promote the common responsibilities of mothers and fathers and ensure that they
are equally empowered with the relevant attitudes,

32 States should develop and implement consistent and

mutually reinforcing family-oriented policies designed
to promote and strengthen parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ability to care for
their children.

skills, capacities, and tools to provide a caring environment for the child?
..ensure coordinated service provision and range of
relevant services to ensure tailored and appropriate

33 States should implement effective measures to prevent child abandonment, relinquishment and separation

responses to families facing difficulties?

12

Guidelines for the alternative care of children

of the child from his/her family. Social policies and programmes should, inter alia, empower families with attitudes, skills, capacities and tools to enable them to provide adequately for the protection, care and development
of their children. The complementary capacities of the
State and civil society, including non-governmental and
community-based organizations, religious leaders and
the media should be engaged to this end. These social
protection measures should include:
(a) Family strengthening services, such as parenting
courses and sessions, the promotion of positive parent-child relationships, conflict resolution skills, opportunities for employment, income-generation and,
where required, social assistance;
(b) Supportive social services, such as day care, mediation and conciliation services, substance abuse treatment, financial assistance, and services for parents
and children with disabilities. Such services, preferably of an integrated and non-intrusive nature, should
be directly accessible at community level and should
actively involve the participation of families as partners, combining their resources with those of the
community and the carer;
(c) Youth policies aiming at empowering youth to face
positively the challenges of everyday life, including
when they decide to leave the parental home, and
preparing future parents to make informed decisions
regarding their sexual and reproductive health and to
fulfil their responsibilities in this respect.

34 Various complementary methods and techniques

should be used for family support, varying throughout the
process of support, such as home visits, group meetings
with other families, case conferences and securing commitments by the family concerned. They should be directed towards both facilitating intrafamilial relationships and
promoting the family’s integration within its community.

35 Special attention should be paid, in accordance with

local laws, to the provision and promotion of support
and care services for single and adolescent parents and
their children, whether or not born out of wedlock. States
should ensure that adolescent parents retain all rights
inherent to their status both as parents and as children,
including access to all appropriate services for their own
development, allowances to which parents are entitled,
and their inheritance rights. Measures should be adopted

to ensure the protection of pregnant adolescents and to
guarantee that they do not interrupt their studies. Efforts
should also be made to reduce stigma attached to single
and adolescent parenthood.

36 Support and services should be available to siblings

who have lost their parents or caregivers and choose to
remain together in their household, to the extent that the
eldest sibling is both willing and deemed capable of acting as the household head. States should ensure, including through the appointment of a legal guardian, a recognized responsible adult or, where appropriate, a public
body legally mandated to act as guardian, as stipulated
in paragraph 18 above, that such households benefit from
mandatory protection from all forms of exploitation and
abuse, and supervision and support on the part of the local community and its competent services, such as social workers, with particular concern for the children’s
health, housing, education and inheritance rights. Special
attention should be given to ensuring the head of such a
household retains all rights inherent to his/her child status, including access to education and leisure, in addition
to his/her rights as a household head.

37 States should ensure opportunities for day care, including all-day schooling, and respite care which would
enable parents better to cope with their overall responsibilities towards the family, including additional responsibilities inherent in caring for children with special needs.

Preventing family separation

38 Proper criteria based on sound professional principles should be developed and consistently applied for
assessing the child’s and family’s situation, including
the family’s actual and potential capacity to care for the
child, in cases where the competent authority or agency
has reasonable grounds to believe that the well-being of
the child is at risk.

39 Decisions regarding removal or reintegration should
be based on this assessment and made by suitably qualified and trained professionals, on behalf of or authorized
by a competent authority, in full consultation with all
concerned and bearing in mind the need to plan for the
child’s future.

13

gral protection and guarantee of rights during pregnancy, birth and the breastfeeding period, in order to ensure
conditions of dignity and equality for the adequate development of the pregnancy and care of the child. Therefore,
support programmes should be provided to future mothers and fathers, particularly adolescent parents, who have
difficulties in exercising their parental responsibilities.
Such programmes should aim at empowering mothers
and fathers to exercise their parental responsibilities in
conditions of dignity, and at avoiding their being induced
to surrender their child because of their vulnerability.

PREVENTING FAMILY
SEPARATION
In line with the principle of necessity, the prevention of family separation focuses on ensuring
sound and rigorous decision-making processes.

should ensure that this may take place in conditions of
confidentiality and safety for the child, respecting his/
her right to access information on his/her origins where
appropriate and possible under the law of the State.

Does national policy..
..ensure that assessment processes are informed by
multi-disciplinary perspectives on, for example, edu-

42 States should formulate clear policies to address situations where a child has been abandoned anonymously,
which indicate whether and how family tracing should
be undertaken and reunification or placement within the
extended family pursued. Policies should also allow for
timely decision-making on the child’s eligibility for permanent family placement and for arranging such placements expeditiously.

cation, health, and other relevant areas of concern?
..require assessment processes to give all due consideration to identifying necessary supports for the
family and make referrals to relevant services as an
alternative to separation?
..guarantee that assessment processes identify and
seek to address root causes for the unnecessary

43 When a public or private agency or facility is approached by a parent or legal guardian wishing to relinquish a child permanently, the State should ensure that
the family receives counselling and social support to
encourage and enable them to continue to care for the
child. If this fails, a social work or other appropriate professional assessment should be undertaken to determine
whether there are other family members who wish to
take permanent responsibility for the child, and whether
such arrangements would be in the child’s best interests. Where such arrangements are not possible or in the
child’s best interests, efforts should be made to find a
permanent family placement within a reasonable period.

separation of children, such as discrimination, pov-

44 When a public or private agency or facility is ap-

..make provision for procedures which support

proached by a parent or caregiver wishing to place a child
in care for a short or indefinite period, the State should
ensure the availability of counselling and social support
to encourage and enable them to continue to care for the

erty, or disability?
..support and encourage the training of other professional groups, such as teachers and doctors, in
identifying children at-risk and oblige them to make
referrals to relevant services and responsible authorities?
..ensure vulnerable parents seeking to relinquish
their children have access to counselling and financial or material support to care for children and to
prevent child abandonment?

those children who have been abandoned in gaining confidential access to relevant and appropriate
information on their background?

Guidelines for the alternative care of children

PROMOTING FAMILY
REINTEGRATION
For children who are in alternative care, and in
line with ensuring the placement is appropriate,
options to reintegrate children in their families
are a key part of a care review process.

child. A child should be admitted to alternative care only
when such efforts have been exhausted and acceptable
and justified reasons for entry into care exist.

45 Specific training should be provided to teachers and
others working with children, in order to help them to identify situations of abuse, neglect, exploitation or risk of abandonment and to refer such situations to competent bodies.
46 Any decision to remove a child against the will of his/

her parents must be made by competent authorities, in accordance with applicable law and procedures and subject
to judicial review, the parents being assured the right of
appeal and access to appropriate legal representation.
ÂŠB. Neeleman

14

Does national policy..
..guarantee and facilitate families and children in
exercising their right to appeal a decision to place
a child in alternative care and thereby to seek reintegration on their own terms?
..ensure that care placements are suitably close to
the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family and community in order to minimise disruption and enable the child to maintain

47 When the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sole or main carer may be the subject of deprivation of liberty as a result of preventive
detention or sentencing decisions, non-custodial remand measures and sentences should be taken in appropriate cases wherever possible, the best interests of
the child being given due consideration. States should
take into account the best interests of the child when
deciding whether to remove children born in prison and
children living in prison with a parent. The removal of
such children should be treated in the same way as other
instances where separation is considered. Best efforts
should be made to ensure that children remaining in
custody with their parent benefit from adequate care and
protection, while guaranteeing their own status as free
individuals and access to activities in the community.

regular contact with the family to support potential
reunification?
..emphasise the desirability and need to consider

B. Promoting family
reintegration

the option to reunify children with their families as
a key consideration within the regular reviews of
the care placement?
..guarantee that children and families are actively
involved in decision-making on the possibility of,
and planning for reunification?
..ensure that the decision to reunify a child with
their family leads to a planned and gradual process
during which the family is provided with relevant
support?

48 In order to prepare and support the child and the family for his/her possible return to the family, his/her situation should be assessed by a duly designated individual
or team with access to multidisciplinary advice, in consultation with the different actors involved (the child, the
family, the alternative caregiver), so as to decide whether
the reintegration of the child in the family is possible and
in the best interests of the child, which steps this would
involve and under whose supervision.

15

49 The aims of the reintegration and the family’s and al-

ternative caregiver’s principal tasks in this respect should
be set out in writing and agreed on by all concerned.

50 Regular and appropriate contact between the child
and his/her family specifically for the purpose of reintegration should be developed, supported and monitored
by the competent body.

any necessary financial and other support that would promote the child’s welfare and protection. Where possible
and appropriate, States should encourage and enable informal caregivers, with the consent of the child and parents concerned, to formalize the care arrangement after a
suitable lapse of time, to the extent that the arrangement
has proved to be in the child’s best interests to date and is
expected to continue in the foreseeable future.

51 Once decided, reintegration of the child in his/her

family should be designed as a gradual and supervised
process, accompanied by follow-up and support measures that take account of the child’s age, needs and evolving capacities, as well as the cause of the separation.

VI. DETERMINATION OF THE
MOST APPROPRIATE FORM
OF CARE

V. FRAMEWORK OF
CARE PROVISION

56 Decision-making on alternative care in the best

52 In order to meet the specific psychoemotional, social and other needs of each child without parental care,
States should take all necessary measures to ensure that
the legislative, policy and financial conditions exist to
provide for adequate alternative care options, with priority to family and community-based solutions.

53 States should ensure the availability of a range of alternative care options, consistent with the general principles of the present Guidelines, for emergency, short-term
and long-term care.
54 States should ensure that all entities and individuals en-

gaged in the provision of alternative care for children receive
due authorization to do so from a competent authority and be
subject to the latter’s regular monitoring and review in keeping with the present Guidelines. To this end, these authorities
should develop appropriate criteria for assessing the professional and ethical fitness of care providers and for their accreditation, monitoring and supervision.

55 With regard to informal care arrangements for the

child, whether within the extended family, with friends
or with other parties, States should, where appropriate,
encourage such carers to notify the competent authorities accordingly so that they and the child may receive

interests of the child should take place through a judicial, administrative or other adequate and recognized
procedure, with legal safeguards, including, where appropriate, legal representation on behalf of children in
any legal proceedings. It should be based on rigorous
assessment, planning and review, through established
structures and mechanisms, and carried out on a caseby-case basis, by suitably qualified professionals in a
multidisciplinary team, wherever possible. It should involve full consultation at all stages with the child, according to his/her evolving capacities, and with his/her
parents or legal guardians. To this end, all concerned
should be provided with the necessary information on
which to base their opinion. States should make every
effort to provide adequate resources and channels for the
training and recognition of the professionals responsible
for determining the best form of care so as to facilitate
compliance with these provisions.

57 Assessment should be carried out expeditiously, thoroughly and carefully. It should take into account the child’s
immediate safety and well-being, as well as his/her longer
term care and development, and should cover the child’s
personal and developmental characteristics, ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious background, family and social environment, medical history and any special needs.

58 The resulting initial and review reports should be

used as essential tools for planning decisions from the
time of their acceptance by the competent authorities on-

Guidelines for the alternative care of children

DETERMINING
APPROPRIATENESS
In cases of necessity the question of assessing
what is appropriate is the next step.

the child’s development and ability to form attachments,
and should be avoided. Short-term placements should
aim at enabling an appropriate permanent solution to be
arranged. Permanency for the child should be secured
without undue delay through reintegration in his/her nuclear or extended family or, if this is not possible, in an
alternative stable family setting or, where paragraph 20
above applies, in stable and appropriate residential care.

be carried out from the earliest possible time, ideally before the child enters care, taking into account the immediate and longer term advantages and disadvantages of
each option considered, and should comprise short- and
long-term propositions.

Does national policy..

61 Planning for care provision and permanency should

ability of care providers?

be based on, notably, the nature and quality of the child’s
attachment to his/her family; the family’s capacity to
safeguard the child’s well-being and harmonious development; the child’s need or desire to feel part of a family; the desirability of the child remaining within his/her
community and country; his/her cultural, linguistic and
religious background; and relationships with siblings,
with a view to avoiding their separation.

..oblige care providers to ensure that comprehen-

62 The plan should clearly state, inter alia, the goals of

..oblige care providers to ensure the implementation
of rigorous, multi-disciplinary approaches to decision-making that includes the informed participation
of children and their families?
..provide a suitable regulatory framework to ensure
authorisation, registration, monitoring and account-

should be fully informed about the alternative care options available, the implications of each option and their
rights and obligations in the matter.

give all due consideration to the general conditions
of care experienced by the child, the continued necessity of the placement, and take account of the
views of the child?
..oblige care providers to ensure individualised care
solutions that promote a stability and permanence
in planning care, through reunification with the family, or the continued provision of alternative care?

64 The preparation, enforcement and evaluation of a pro-

tective measure for a child should be carried out, to the
greatest extent possible, with the participation of his/her
parents or legal guardians and potential foster carers and
caregivers, with respect to his/her particular needs, convictions and special wishes. At the request of the child,
parents or legal guardians, other important persons in the
child’s life may also be consulted in any decision-making
process, at the discretion of the competent authority.

17

65 States should ensure that any child who has been

placed in alternative care by a properly constituted court,
tribunal or administrative or other competent body, as
well as his/her parents or others with parental responsibility, are given the opportunity to make representations
on the placement decision before a court, are informed of
their rights to make such representations and are assisted
in doing so.

66 States should ensure the right of any child who has

been placed in temporary care to regular and thorough
review - preferably at least every three months - of the
appropriateness of his/her care and treatment, taking into
account notably his/her personal development and any
changing needs, developments in his/her family environment, and the adequacy and necessity of the current
placement in these lights. The review should be carried
out by duly qualified and authorized persons, and fully involve the child and all relevant persons in the child’s life.

67 The child should be prepared for all changes of care

settings resulting from the planning and review processes.

between agencies and individuals in order to ensure effective care, aftercare and protection for these children.
The location and/or design of the agency responsible for
the oversight of alternative care should be established so
as to maximize its accessibility to those who require the
services provided.

70 Special attention should be paid to the quality of alternative care provision, both in residential and familybased care, in particular with regard to the professional
skills, selection, training and supervision of carers. Their
role and functions should be clearly defined and clarified with respect to those of the child’s parents or legal
guardians.

71 In each country, the competent authorities should

draw up a document setting out the rights of children in
alternative care in keeping with the present Guidelines.
Children in alternative care should be enabled to understand fully the rules, regulations and objectives of the
care setting and their rights and obligations therein.

72 All alternative care provision should be based on a

A. Policies

written statement of the provider’s aims and objectives in
providing the service and the nature of their responsibilities to the child that reflects the standards set by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the present Guidelines
and applicable law. All providers should be appropriately
qualified or approved in accordance with legal requirements to provide alternative care services.

68 It is a responsibility of the State or appropriate level

73 A regulatory framework should be established to en-

VII. PROVISION OF
ALTERNATIVE CARE

of government to ensure the development and implementation of coordinated policies regarding formal and
informal care for all children who are without parental
care. Such policies should be based on sound information and statistical data. They should define a process for
determining who has responsibility for a child, taking
into account the role of the child’s parents or principal
caregivers in his/her protection, care and development.
Presumptive responsibility, unless shown to be otherwise, is with the child’s parents or principal caregivers.

69 All State entities involved in the referral of, and assistance to, children without parental care, in cooperation with civil society, should adopt policies and procedures which favour information-sharing and networking

sure a standard process for the referral or admission of a
child to an alternative care setting.

74 Cultural and religious practices regarding provi-

sion of alternative care, including those related to gender perspectives, should be respected and promoted to
the extent that they can be shown to be consistent with
the children’s rights and best interests. The process of
considering whether such practices should be promoted
should be carried out in a broadly participatory way, involving the cultural and religious leaders concerned, professionals and those caring for children without parental
care, parents and other relevant stakeholders, as well as
the children themselves.

Guidelines for the alternative care of children

1. Informal care

GENERAL CONDITIONS (I)

75 With a view to ensuring that appropriate conditions of

The Guidelines treat formal and informal care
quite differently setting very different thresholds
of obligation. Informal carers are encouraged to
make themselves known with a view to ensuring
access to available social supports, while formal
care should meet certain general conditions.

care are met in informal care provided by individuals or
families, States should recognize the role played by this
type of care and take adequate measures to support its optimal provision on the basis of an assessment of which particular settings may require special assistance or oversight.

77 The State should recognize the de facto responsibility of informal carers for the child.

78 States should devise special and appropriate measDoes national policy..
..set and monitor appropriate standards for facilities
to ensure that the physical environment is suitably fit
for purpose with respect to health and safety regula-

ures designed to protect children in informal care from
abuse, neglect, child labour and all other forms of exploitation, with particular attention to informal care provided
by non-relatives, by relatives previously unknown to the
child or far from the child’s habitual place of residence.

tions, providing sanitary and hygiene standards that
respect the child’s right to privacy?
..oblige formal care providers to ensure carers are

2. General conditions applying to all forms of
formal alternative care arrangements

professionally qualified and appropriately trained,
for example, on the rights of the child and child development issues?
..guarantee practices that ensure regular contact

79 The transfer of a child into alternative care should

be carried out with the utmost sensitivity and in a childfriendly manner, in particular involving specially trained
and, in principle, non-uniformed personnel.

between the child, his/her parents, other family

care, and employment?

80 When a child is placed in alternative care, contact
with his/her family, as well as with other persons close
to him or her, such as friends, neighbours and previous
carers, should be encouraged and facilitated, in keeping
with the child’s protection and best interests. The child
should have access to information on the situation of his/
her family members in the absence of contact with them.

..ensure that care providers and facilities set an ap-

81 States should pay special attention to ensuring that

members, friends, and their community?
..foresee the need to challenge social attitudes and
the stigmatisation of children with alternative care
backgrounds and specifically prohibit discrimination, for example, on access to education, health

propriate balance between the need for care and
protection and the autonomous development of the
evolving capacities of the child?

children in alternative care because of parental imprisonment or prolonged hospitalization have the opportunity
to maintain contact with their parents and receive any
necessary counselling and support in that regard.

19

82 Carers should ensure that children receive adequate

89 Carers should understand the importance of their role

amounts of wholesome and nutritious food in accordance
with local dietary habits and relevant dietary standards,
as well as with the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s religious beliefs. Appropriate nutritional supplementation should also be provided
when necessary.

90 Accommodation in all alternative care settings should
meet the requirements of health and safety.

83 Carers should promote the health of the children for

91 States must ensure through their competent authori-

whom they are responsible and make arrangements to
ensure that medical care, counselling and support are
made available as required.

84 Children should have access to formal, non-formal
and vocational education in accordance with their rights,
to the maximum extent possible in educational facilities
in the local community.

85 Carers should ensure that the right of every child, in-

in developing positive, safe and nurturing relationships
with children, and be able to do so.

ties that accommodation provided to children in alternative care, and their supervision in such placements,
enable them to be effectively protected against abuse.
Particular attention needs to be paid to the age, maturity
and degree of vulnerability of each child in determining
his/her living arrangements. Measures aimed at protecting children in care should be in conformity with the law
and not involve unreasonable constraints on their liberty
and conduct in comparison with children of similar age
in their community.

cluding children with disabilities, living with or affected
by HIV/AIDS or having any other special needs, to develop through play and leisure activities is respected and
that opportunities for such activities are created within
and outside the care setting. Contacts with the children
and others in the local community should be encouraged
and facilitated.

92 All alternative care settings should provide adequate
protection to children from abduction, trafficking, sale
and all other forms of exploitation. Any consequent constraints on their liberty and conduct should be no more
than are strictly necessary to ensure their effective protection from such acts.

86 The specific safety, health, nutritional, developmen-

93 All carers should promote and encourage children and

tal and other needs of babies and young children, including those with special needs, should be catered for in all
care settings, including ensuring their ongoing attachment to a specific carer.

87 Children should be allowed to satisfy the needs of
their religious and spiritual life, including by receiving
visits from a qualified representative of their religion,
and to freely decide to participate or not in religious
services, religious education or counselling. The childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
own religious background should be respected, and no
child should be encouraged or persuaded to change his/
her religion or belief during a care placement.
88 All adults responsible for children should respect and
promote the right to privacy, including appropriate facilities for hygiene and sanitary needs, respecting gender
differences and interaction, and adequate, secure and accessible storage space for personal possessions.

young people to develop and exercise informed choices,
taking account of acceptable risks and the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s age,
and according to his/her evolving capacities.

94 States, agencies and facilities, schools and other com-

munity services should take appropriate measures to ensure that children in alternative care are not stigmatized
during or after their placement. This should include efforts to minimize the identification of the child as being
looked after in an alternative care setting.

95 All disciplinary measures and behaviour manage-

ment constituting torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment, including closed or solitary confinement or
any other forms of physical or psychological violence
that are likely to compromise the physical or mental
health of the child, must be strictly prohibited in conformity with international human rights law. States must
take all necessary measures to prevent such practices
and ensure that they are punishable by law. Restriction

Guidelines for the alternative care of children

GENERAL CONDITIONS (II)
Does national policy..
..prohibit and sanction all forms of violence against
children, and oblige care providers to ensure relevant training and awareness-raising for carers?
..oblige care providers to ensure that procedures
are in place to record and respond to incidents of
violence against children in alternative care, and en-

of contact with members of the child’s family and other
persons of special importance to the child should never
be used as a sanction.

96 Use of force and restraints of whatever nature should
not be authorized unless strictly necessary for safeguarding the child’s or others’ physical or psychological integrity, in conformity with the law and in a reasonable
and proportionate manner and with respect for the fundamental rights of the child. Restraint by means of drugs
and medication should be based on therapeutic needs and
should never be employed without evaluation and prescription by a specialist.

sure accountability?

97 Children in care should be offered access to a person

..require care providers to ensure that carers are
trained in non-violent de-escalation techniques and
the appropriate use of physical restraint when it is
necessary?
..emphasise obligations to record incidents of physi-

of trust in whom they may confide in total confidentiality. This person should be designated by the competent
authority with the agreement of the child concerned. The
child should be informed that legal or ethical standards
may require breaching confidentiality under certain circumstances.

cal restraint and the need for care providers to respond appropriately and monitor such incidences?
..establish a regulatory framework ensuring open
and impartial complaints procedures and the independent oversight of such a system?
..ensure that care providers facilitate any child pursuing a complaint, for example, through the support
of a “person of trust” throughout the whole process?

98 Children in care should have access to a known, ef-

fective and impartial mechanism whereby they can notify complaints or concerns regarding their treatment
or conditions of placement. Such mechanisms should
include initial consultation, feedback, implementation
and further consultation. Young people with previous
care experience should be involved in this process, due
weight being given to their opinions. This process should
be conducted by competent persons trained to work with
children and young people.

99 To promote the child’s sense of self-identity, a life story

book comprising appropriate information, pictures, personal objects and mementoes regarding each step of the
child’s life should be maintained with the child’s participation and made available to the child throughout his/her life.

100 In situations where the child’s parents are absent
or are incapable of making day-to-day decisions in the
best interests of the child, and the child’s placement in
alternative care has been ordered or authorized by a com-

21

petent administrative body or judicial authority, a designated individual or competent entity should be vested
with the legal right and responsibility to make such decisions in the place of parents, in full consultation with the
child. States should ensure that a mechanism is in place
for designating such an individual or entity.

101 Such legal responsibility should be attributed by
the competent authorities and be supervised directly by
them or through formally accredited entities, including
non-governmental organizations. Accountability for the
actions of the individual or entity concerned should lie
with the designating body.

AGENCIES, FACILITIES
& CARERS
The Guidelines outline a regulatory framework
that emphasises State responsibility for the
authorisation, monitoring and accountability
of care providers, care facilities and individual
carers.

be reputable individuals with relevant knowledge of children’s issues, an ability to work directly with children,
and an understanding of any special and cultural needs of
the children to be entrusted to them. They should receive
appropriate training and professional support in this regard. They should be in a position to make independent
and impartial decisions that are in the best interests of
the children concerned and that promote and safeguard
each child’s welfare.

Does national policy..
..ensure the authorisation of care providing agencies and facilities, including the requirement to

103 The role and specific responsibilities of the desig-

nated person or entity should include:
(a) Ensuring that the rights of the child are protected and
that, in particular, the child has appropriate care, accommodation, health-care provision, developmental
opportunities, psychosocial support, education and
language support;
(b) Ensuring that the child has access to legal and other
representation where necessary, consulting with the
child so that the child’s views are taken into account
by decision-making authorities, and advising and
keeping the child informed of his/her rights;
(c) Contributing to the identification of a stable solution
in the child’s best interests;
(d) Providing a link between the child and various organizations that may provide services to the child;
(e) Assisting the child in family tracing;
(f) Ensuring that, if repatriation or family reunification is
carried out, it is done in the best interests of the child;
(g) Helping the child to keep in touch with his/her family,
when appropriate.

present policies on staff recruitment, conduct and
monitoring, the standards of care provided, and procedures to report misconduct?
..oblige care providers to ensure up-to-date records
are kept, the confidentiality of those records, and
also to facilitate access to those records by children, if required?
..set minimum employment standards to ensure
suitable working conditions, adequate remuneration
and thus the motivation and retention of carers and
other staff?
..establish criteria to ensure that care providers to
maintain care standards through personal development of carers and training on relevant issues, for
example, child protection legislation, child rights,
the appropriate use of restraint, child development
issues and children with special needs?

22

Guidelines for the alternative care of children

1. Agencies and facilities responsible for
formal care

104 Legislation should stipulate that all agencies and

facilities must be registered and authorized to operate by
social welfare services or another competent authority,
and that failure to comply with such legislation constitutes an offence punishable by law. Authorization should
be granted and regularly reviewed by the competent authorities on the basis of standard criteria covering, at a
minimum, the agency’s or facility’s objectives, functioning, staff recruitment and qualifications, conditions of
care and financial resources and management.

105 All agencies and facilities should have written policy and practice statements consistent with the present
Guidelines, setting out clearly their aims, policies, methods and the standards applied for the recruitment, monitoring, supervision and evaluation of qualified and suitable carers to ensure that those aims are met.

106 All agencies and facilities should develop a staff

code of conduct, consistent with the present Guidelines,
that defines the role of each professional and of the carers
in particular and includes clear reporting procedures on
allegations of misconduct by any team member.

107 The forms of financing care provision should never

be such as to encourage a child’s unnecessary placement
or prolonged stay in care arrangements organized or provided by an agency or facility.

108 Comprehensive and up-to-date records should be
maintained regarding the administration of alternative
care services, including detailed files on all children in
their care, staff employed and financial transactions.
109 The records on children in care should be complete,

up to date, confidential and secure, and include information
on their admission and departure and the form, content and
details of the care placement of each child, together with any
appropriate identity documents and other personal information. Information on the child’s family should be included
in the child’s file as well as in the reports based on regular
evaluations. This record should follow the child throughout
the alternative care period and be consulted by duly authorized professionals responsible for his/her current care.

110 The above-mentioned records could be made available

to the child, as well as to the parents or guardians, within
the limits of the child’s right to privacy and confidentiality,
as appropriate. Appropriate counselling should be provided
before, during and after consultation of the record.

111 All alternative care services should have a clear

policy on maintaining the confidentiality of information
pertaining to each child, which all carers are aware of
and adhere to.

112 As a matter of good practice, all agencies and facilities should systematically ensure that, prior to employment, carers and other staff in direct contact with
children undergo an appropriate and comprehensive assessment of their suitability to work with children.

113 Conditions of work, including remuneration, for carers employed by agencies and facilities should be such as
to maximize motivation, job satisfaction and continuity,
and hence their disposition to fulfil their role in the most
appropriate and effective manner.

114 Training should be provided to all carers on the

rights of children without parental care and on the specific vulnerability of children, in particularly difficult
situations, such as emergency placements or placements
outside their area of habitual residence. Cultural, social,
gender and religious sensitization should also be assured.
States should also provide adequate resources and channels for the recognition of these professionals in order to
favour the implementation of these provisions.

115 Training in dealing appropriately with challenging

behaviour, including conflict resolution techniques and
means to prevent acts of harm or self-harm, should be
provided to all care staff employed by agencies and facilities.

116 Agencies and facilities should ensure that, wherever

appropriate, carers are prepared to respond to children
with special needs, notably those living with HIV/AIDS
or other chronic physical or mental illnesses, and children with physical or mental disabilities.

23

2. Foster care

117 The competent authority or agency should devise a

system, and should train concerned staff accordingly, to
assess and match the needs of the child with the abilities
and resources of potential foster carers and to prepare all
concerned for the placement.

118 A pool of accredited foster carers should be identi-

RANGE OF CARE OPTIONS
Respecting the principles of necessity and appropriateness and the requirement for caseby-case decision-making leads to a discussion of the need for a range of alternative care
options to provide the required flexibility to
respond.

fied in each locality, who can provide children with care
and protection while maintaining ties to family, community and cultural group.

119 Special preparation, support and counselling services for foster carers should be developed and made available to carers at regular intervals, before, during and after the placement.

ÂŠ P. Hahn

120 Carers should have, within fostering agencies and

other systems involved with children without parental
care, the opportunity to make their voice heard and to
influence policy.

121 Encouragement should be given to the establishment of associations of foster carers that can provide
important mutual support and contribute to practice and
policy development.

Does national policy..
..set a proactive agenda to develop, encourage and
support the increased availability and use of foster
care and other forms of family-based care?

C. Residential care

..ensure that the development of the foster care system is adequate to the needs of communities and

122 Facilities providing residential care should be small

and organized around the rights and needs of the child, in
a setting as close as possible to a family or small group
situation. Their objective should generally be to provide
temporary care and to contribute actively to the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
family reintegration or, if this is not possible, to secure
his/her stable care in an alternative family setting, including through adoption or kafala of Islamic law, where
appropriate.

consequently also community-based?
..allow for relevant and genuine consultation with
foster carers and foster care organisations in order
to inform and influence relevant policy?
..ensure that residential care facilities provide suitably individualised care, in small group settings, with
sufficient and qualified staff to deliver appropriate
standards of care?

123 Measures should be taken so that, where necessary

and appropriate, a child solely in need of protection and
alternative care may be accommodated separately from
children who are subject to the criminal justice system.

..provide relevant safeguards to ensure that residential care is only used when appropriate, and that active solicitation of admissions by care providers, for
example, in order to secure financing, is prohibited?

124 The competent national or local authority should es-

Guidelines for the alternative care of children

PREPARATION & SUPPORT
FOR LIFE AFTER CARE
Recognising many of the challenges faced by
young adults leaving care, the Guidelines offer a supportive framework for preparation for
leaving care with continued support for the
time after care.

tablish rigorous screening procedures to ensure that only
appropriate admissions to such facilities are made.

125 States should ensure that there are sufficient carers

in residential care settings to allow individualized attention and to give the child, where appropriate, the opportunity to bond with a specific carer. Carers should also
be deployed within the care setting in such a way as to
implement effectively its aims and objectives and ensure
child protection.

126 Laws, policies and regulations should prohibit the

recruitment and solicitation of children for placement in
residential care by agencies, facilities or individuals.
D. Inspection and monitoring

Does national policy..
..foresee the need for well-timed planning for leav-

care provision should be accountable to a specific public
authority, which should ensure, inter alia, frequent inspections comprising both scheduled and unannounced
visits, involving discussion with and observation of the
staff and the children.

128 To the extent possible and appropriate, inspection

functions should include a component of training and
capacity-building for care providers.

ing care, developed in consultation with the child?

129 States should be encouraged to ensure that an in..oblige care providers to ensure that children preparing to leave care have access to relevant formal
and vocational education, life skills training, and
other opportunities in line with their aspirations for
an independent future?
..ensure the allocation of specific resources, for example, a dedicated support person to guide and advise them through the preparation for, and the time
after, leaving care?
..support the need for alternative care settings to
operate an “open door” policy with regards to care
leavers, i.e. can they return to visit and maintain
contact with their former carers as a source of further support?

dependent monitoring mechanism is in place, with due
consideration for the Principles relating to the Status of
National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of
Human Rights (Paris Principles). The monitoring mechanism should be easily accessible to children, parents and
those responsible for children without parental care. The
functions of the monitoring mechanism should include:
(a) Consulting in conditions of privacy with children in
all forms of alternative care, visiting the care settings
in which they live and undertaking investigations into
any alleged situation of violation of children’s rights
in those settings, on complaint or on its own initiative;
(b) Recommending relevant policies to appropriate authorities with the aim of improving the treatment of
children deprived of parental care and ensuring that it
is in keeping with the preponderance of research findings on child protection, health, development and care;

25

(c) Submitting proposals and observations concerning

draft legislation;

CHILDREN ABROAD

(d) Contributing independently to the reporting process

under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including to periodic State party reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child with regard to the
implementation of the present Guidelines.

The Guidelines emphasise that children outside their country of habitual residence should
benefit from the same levels of care and protection as nationals of the recipient country.

ÂŠ C. Martinelli

E. Support for aftercare

130 Agencies and facilities should have a clear policy

and carry out agreed procedures relating to the planned
and unplanned conclusion of their work with children to
ensure appropriate aftercare and/or follow-up. Throughout the period of care, they should systematically aim at
preparing the child to assume self-reliance and to integrate fully in the community, notably through the acquisition of social and life skills, which are fostered by participation in the life of the local community.

131 The process of transition from care to aftercare
should take into consideration the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gender, age,
maturity and particular circumstances and include
counselling and support, notably to avoid exploitation.
Children leaving care should be encouraged to take part
in the planning of aftercare life. Children with special
needs, such as disabilities, should benefit from an appropriate support system, ensuring, inter alia, avoidance
of unnecessary institutionalization. Both the public and
private sectors should be encouraged, including through
incentives, to employ children from different care services, particularly children with special needs.

Does national policy..
..ensure that customs and immigration officials are
adequately trained to respond to the requirements
of children abroad with the necessary sensitivity?
..make provision for systematic referral systems
between the relevant and concerned agencies and
departments, such as immigration, social work, and
the police?
..provide for the appointment of a responsible adult
or agency to represent and support a child through
decision-making processes regarding care and/or
immigration?
..seek to ensure that alternative care options for
children abroad are appropriate to, and respectful
of, the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ethnic, cultural and religious back-

132 Special efforts should be made to allocate to each
child, whenever possible, a specialized person who can
facilitate his/her independence when leaving care.

ground?
..ensure, through diplomatic or other investigative
channels, that appropriate risk assessments are

133 Aftercare should be prepared as early as possible

in the placement and, in any case, well before the child
leaves the care setting.

conducted prior to the return of any child to the
country of origin, or on reunification with the family?
..provide sufficient safeguards to ensure the ex-

134 Ongoing educational and vocational training oppor-

tunities should be imparted as part of life skill education to
young people leaving care in order to help them to become
financially independent and generate their own income.

haustion of efforts to reunify the child with parents,
extended family or other habitual carers, prior to
other permanent solutions, such as adoption, being
applied?

26

Guidelines for the alternative care of children

135 Access to social, legal and health services, together

with appropriate financial support, should also be provided to young people leaving care and during aftercare.

VIII. CARE PROVISION FOR
CHILDREN OUTSIDE THEIR
COUNTRY OF HABITUAL
RESIDENCE
A. Placement of a child for
care abroad
136 The present Guidelines should apply to all public

and private entities and all persons involved in arrangements for a child to be sent for care to a country other
than his/her country of habitual residence, whether for
medical treatment, temporary hosting, respite care or
any other reason.

137 States concerned should ensure that a designated

body has responsibility for determining specific standards to be met regarding, in particular, the criteria for selecting carers in the host country and the quality of care
and follow-up, as well as for supervising and monitoring
the operation of such schemes.

138 To ensure appropriate international cooperation and

child protection in such situations, States are encouraged
to ratify or accede to the Hague Convention of 19 October 1996 on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition,
Enforcement and Cooperation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children.

B. Provision of care for a child
already abroad
139 The present Guidelines, as well as other relevant

international provisions, should apply to all public and
private entities and all persons involved in arrangements
for a child needing care while in a country other than his/
her country of habitual residence, for whatever reason.

140 Unaccompanied or separated children already abroad

should in principle enjoy the same level of protection and
care as national children in the country concerned.

141 In determining appropriate care provision, the diversity and disparity of unaccompanied or separated
children (such as ethnic and migratory background or
cultural and religious diversity) should be taken into consideration on a case-by-case basis.

142 Unaccompanied or separated children, including those

who arrive irregularly in a country, should not be, in principle, deprived of their liberty solely for having breached any
law governing access to and stay within the territory.

143 Child victims of trafficking should neither be de-

tained in police custody nor subjected to penalties for their
involvement under compulsion in unlawful activities.

144 As soon as an unaccompanied child is identified,

States are strongly encouraged to appoint a guardian or,
where necessary, representation by an organization responsible for his/her care and well-being to accompany
the child throughout the status determination and decision-making process.

145 As soon as an unaccompanied or separated child is

taken into care, all reasonable efforts should be made to
trace his/her family and re-establish family ties, when
this is in the best interests of the child and would not
endanger those involved.

146 In order to assist in planning the future of an un-

accompanied or separated child in a manner that best
protects his/her rights, relevant State and social service
authorities should make all reasonable efforts to procure
documentation and information in order to conduct an
assessment of the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s risk and social and family conditions in his/her country of habitual residence.

147 Unaccompanied or separated children must not be
returned to their country of habitual residence:
(a) If, following the risk and security assessment, there
are reasons to believe that the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s safety and security are in danger;
(b) Unless, prior to the return, a suitable caregiver, such
as a parent, other relative, other adult caretaker, a
Government agency or an authorized agency or facil-

27

ity in the country of origin, has agreed and is able to
take responsibility for the child and provide him/her
with appropriate care and protection;
(c) If, for other reasons, it is not in their best interests, according to the assessment of the competent authorities.

148 With the above aims in mind, cooperation among
States, regions, local authorities and civil society associations should be promoted, strengthened and enhanced.

CHILDREN IN EMERGENCIES
The Guidelines should be applied in all emergency situations and stress the primary goal of
tracing and reunifying children with their families to the maximum extent possible prior to any
other permanent solution being pursued.

149 The effective involvement of consular services or,

failing that, legal representatives of the country of origin
should be foreseen, when this is in the best interests of the
child and would not endanger the child or his/her family.

ÂŠ B. Neeleman

150 Those responsible for the welfare of an unaccompanied or separated child should facilitate regular communication between the child and his/her family, except
where this is against the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wishes or is demonstrably not in his/her best interests.
151 Placement with a view to adoption or kafala of Islamic law should not be considered a suitable initial option for an unaccompanied or separated child. States are
encouraged to consider this option only after efforts to
determine the location of his/her parents, extended family or habitual carers have been exhausted.

Does national policy..
..require local and international agencies providing
emergency relief to have clear policies with regards
to providing holistic support to families and com-

IX. CARE IN EMERGENCY
SITUATIONS
A. Application of the Guidelines

munities and the necessary care and protection of
children?
..guarantee State supervision of the registration of
separated children ensuring that the data collected
is confidential, secure and aimed primarily at facilitating reunification?

152 The present Guidelines should continue to apply in
situations of emergency arising from natural and manmade disasters, including international and non-international armed conflicts, as well as foreign occupation.
Individuals and organizations wishing to work on behalf
of children without parental care in emergency situations
are strongly encouraged to operate in accordance with
the Guidelines.

..ensure the development of a suitable range of
community-based care options able to meet, on a
case-by-case basis, the differing requirements of
children for whom reunification is not possible?
..provide sufficient safeguards to make certain that
all efforts to reunify children with their family have
been exhausted before other permanent solutions,

153 In such circumstances, the State or de facto authorities in the region concerned, the international com-

such as adoption, are sought?

28

Guidelines for the alternative care of children

munity and all local, national, foreign and international
agencies providing or intending to provide child-focused
services should pay special attention:
(a) To ensure that all entities and persons involved in
responding to unaccompanied or separated children
are sufficiently experienced, trained, resourceful and
equipped to do so in an appropriate manner;
(b) To develop, as necessary, temporary and long-term
family-based care;
(c) To use residential care only as a temporary measure
until family-based care can be developed;
(d) To prohibit the establishment of new residential facilities structured to provide simultaneous care to large
groups of children on a permanent or long-term basis;
(e) To prevent the cross-border displacement of children,
except under the circumstances described in paragraph 159 below;
(f) To make cooperation with family tracing and reintegration efforts mandatory.
Preventing separation

154 Organizations and authorities should make every ef-

158 As unaccompanied or separated children may be

at heightened risk of abuse and exploitation, monitoring
and specific support to carers should be foreseen to ensure their protection.

159 Children in emergency situations should not be

moved to a country other than that of their habitual residence for alternative care except temporarily for compelling health, medical or safety reasons. In that case, this
should be as close as possible to their home, they should
be accompanied by a parent or caregiver known to the
child, and a clear return plan should be established.

160 Should family reintegration prove impossible within an appropriate period or be deemed contrary to the
childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best interests, stable and definitive solutions, such
as kafala of Islamic law or adoption, should be envisaged; failing this, other long-term options should be
considered, such as foster care or appropriate residential
care, including group homes and other supervised living
arrangements.

fort to prevent the separation of children from their parents or primary caregivers, unless the best interests of the
child so require, and ensure that their actions do not inadvertently encourage family separation by providing services and benefits to children alone rather than to families.

C. Tracing and family reintegration

155 Separations initiated by the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents or other

162 Registration activities should be conducted by or

primary caregivers should be prevented by:
(a) Ensuring that all households have access to basic food and
medical supplies and other services, including education;
(b) Limiting the development of residential care options
and restricting their use to those situations where it is
absolutely necessary.

161 Identifying, registering and documenting unaccompanied or separated children are priorities in any emergency and should be carried out as quickly as possible.

under the direct supervision of State authorities and explicitly mandated entities with responsibility for and experience in this task.

163 The confidential nature of the information collected

B. Care arrangements

should be respected and systems put in place for safe forwarding and storage of information. Information should
only be shared among duly mandated agencies for the
purpose of tracing, family reintegration and care.

156 Communities should be supported to play an active

164 All those engaged in tracing family members or

role in monitoring and responding to care and protection
issues facing children in their local context.

157 Care within a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own community, including

fostering, should be encouraged, as it provides continuity in socialization and development.

primary legal or customary caregivers should operate
within a coordinated system, using standardized forms
and mutually compatible procedures, wherever possible.
They should ensure that the child and others concerned
would not be endangered by their actions.

29

165 The validity of relationships and the confirmation

of the willingness of the child and family members to
be reunited must be verified for every child. No action
should be taken that may hinder eventual family reintegration, such as adoption, change of name, or movement
to places far from the family’s likely location, until all
tracing efforts have been exhausted.

166 Appropriate records of any placement of a child

should be made and kept in a safe and secure manner so
that reunification can be facilitated in the future.

Responsible for the contents: Christian Posch
Graphic design, typeset: SOS Children‘s Villages
International
Permission to reproduce General Assembly(A/
HRC/11/L.13) is granted free of charge by the United
Nations. Permission is for non exclusive English print
rights with proper credits. No commercial use is allowed.
Date of publication: November 2009.